Chapter 33: Magnum Rex
It's school time again. Marinette Dupin-Cheng arrives, a bit sleep deprived from her dual life as Ladybug and Marinette, from homework, and dealing with akumas. She's yawning and rubbing her eyes. Someone holds the door open for her. She says thanks before she realizes that person is Adrien Agreste and dissolves into stammers.
Gilles Chastain and Stella Tenebrae are discussing the differences in their preferred sciences. Meera Pugliese stares out the window, oblivious to continuing the morning routine. Mathieu Anciel arrives with his brother Marc, but when he sees Monique Imhof, the brothers go their own way. Giselle Winters-Blanchet compliments Marc and Nathaniel Kurtzberg on their newest chapter; they tell her they're trying to find an agent (since Lila Rossi didn't pull through). Rachel Beauchene and Meg Delphinus exchange magazines; Yvonne Garnier and Genevieve Faucher show interest in them and ask to borrow them. Ivan Bruel notices Miss Bustier struggling with a lot boxes, so he offers to help carry them. He also helps Sabrina Raincomprix retrieve her hat, which got blown into a tree; Chloe Bourgeois calls him an oaf and shoos him away. Marinette overhears that and tells Chloe off because Ivan's a nice guy who's always willing to help. Ivan looks a bit bashful; he then sees Mylene Haprele arrive and goes over to greet her. (Character images can be found at (( photos . app . goo . gl / cgLSrNi71rxfep9e8 ))(remove the spaces).)
Tristan Fortier, Guy Nigels, and Cameran Tyler are goofing off, talking about movies and laughing at Cameran's occasional flub in the French language (since he's an American exchange student). Jakeel Aristide manages to prank them all at once, and they all genuinely laugh. Then Cameran notices Nicolette Lacroix and goes silent, staring. Tristan nudges Guy; they see what's going on. Guy Nigels encourages Cameran to talk to her. Cameran wonders if it's any use as he'll be going back to America at the end of the year. However, Tristan and Cameran encourage him to try. Tristan Fortier says that you never know how it'll work out. He was really nervous asking Rachel Beauchene to dance on Heroes' Day, but they've been dating ever since. Guy offers some tips and some "do nots" so he doesn't make a cultural flub. Cameran thanks them for their advice and decides he'll talk to Nicolette after class. He even talks to Gilles Chastain about getting some flowers.
After school, Cameran is all prepared. He checks to make sure his breath is clean; he has flowers. He combs his hair. Tristan and Guy give him a pep talk. Then he goes to find Nicolette.
He finds Nicolette in the locker room next to Etienne Fontaine, who is absorbed with his own reflection. Nicolette is complimenting Etienne's clothing and hair, and he's eating up her praise. Nicolette then moves in closer; her body language is clear that she likes Etienne. She asks him to go to an amateur fashion show with her at a boutique. "There'll be lots of mirrors." Etienne is surprised, but she has him at "mirrors," and he agrees.
Cameran drops the flowers; his heart goes numb. Hawk Moth can sense the pain of rejection and unrequited love, so he sends his akuma, turning Cameran into a giant kaiju-like monster called Magnum Rex. (The akumatized item has to be something related to dinosaurs, dragons, or kaiju.) While not much more than a brainless brute, Magnum Rex had the ability to spit electricity and seek out where humans hid based on their heartbeat with his keen hearing. He especially could hear "heartbeats in love" and targeted them, paralyzing his victims so they could see each other but not touch each other.
The akumatization is so big that Magnum Rex busts out the walls of the school. He then turns his attention on Nicolette and Etienne, shocking them so they can't move. Etienne at least gets paralyzed in front of a mirror, so he's happy.
Magnum Rex then listens intently for more heartbeats. He strikes his own friend, Tristan Fortier, and Tristan's girlfriend, Rachel. Guy realizes what's going on and shouts at Magnum Rex to stop while Meg tries to help her best friend recover. Magnum Rex doesn't listen; he can hear Mylene Haprele and Ivan Bruel and stalks after them. Guy sends an Akuma Alert.
Fortunately for Ivan and Mylene, Magnum Rex has no way of being discreet. They hear the heavy footsteps and see him approaching. This gives the couple time to run. Unfortunately, Magnum Rex has huge strides, so he catches up fairly quickly. He gears up to strike Mylene and Ivan when Ladybug and Cat Noir arrive, using their weapons to delay and distract him. Ivan grabs Mylene and runs.
While Ladybug and Cat Noir deal with the huge akuma victim and Cat Noir flirts with Ladybug, Ivan finds a place to hide Mylene. He then promises she'll be safe because he's going to be a distraction. She protests, but he locks her in and runs off, back toward Magnum Rex. It also turns out, Cat Noir's flirting was part of a plan to lure Magnum Rex after him and Ladybug instead of innocent civilians, as Cat Noir is still trying to be respectful as seen back during the Medusa chapter.
The golden duo has a hard time due to Magnum Rex's size. Cat Noir points out they've deal with large opponents before, like Gigantitan and Gorizilla, and says "the bigger they are, the harder they fall." Ladybug points out that neither Gigantitan or Gorizilla shot lightning. She decides to use her Lucky Charm, which points her to Master Fu. She asks Cat Noir to buy time while she runs off.
In a largely unrelated situation, Alya Cesaire is babysitting her little twin sisters. They're out walking the streets of Paris, returning home from playing in the park or flying kites or something. The twins are very excitable and having fun, acting and playing. Alya is filming them with her phone. She got the akuma alert, but she figures the problem is too far away to worry (there is a certain amount of numbness setting in to the people of Paris about monster-of-the-week attacks.) Alya does want to film it for her Ladyblog, but she knows she'll never make it in time.
A blur of motion in her phone catches her eye. Alya stops filming and reviews the footage. "Ladybug?" She realizes Ladybug dropped behind a nearby building (though she can't pinpoint which one). Alya has her sisters wait and play while she watches, keeping half an eye on them.
Ladybug meets with Master Fu, and he offers her a miraculous from the box. With an opponent as big as Magnum Rex, she needs the ox miraculous. She hurries off with a new ally in mind.
Outside, Alya notices that Ladybug did re-emerge a few minutes later. It looks as if she came from the back entrance of an acupuncture clinic. But why would Ladybug go there? Her sisters pull her hands, telling her to hurry up. Alya continues walking again, but the mystery burns in the back of her mind.
Cat Noir does his best to handle Magnum Rex, but his opponent really is huge. He gets some reprieve when Ivan draws the akumatized victim's attention. Unfortunately for Ivan, he's only able to run so far before he gets winded. However, that was enough time for Cat Noir to refocus himself. He tells Ivan to get to safety while he handles Magnum Rex. Ivan does so, but he doesn't go far. He needs to keep an eye out in case the kaiju goes after Mylene again.
Ladybug appears behind him, startling him pretty badly. Once he recovers, she offers him the ox miraculous with the usual "greater good" speech. Ivan is absolutely flattered that Ladybug herself sees something heroic in him. She replies that it's his kind heart. Ivan accepts the miraculous and meets Stompp the ox kwami. He then turns into the hero Blue Ox (name subject to change based on canon). Ladybug tells Blue Ox to follow her into battle.
They meet up with Cat Noir moments later, and Ladybug introduces the new hero. Cat Noir says he's glad for the help. Is there any way that Blue Ox can pin down Magnum Rex while he and Ladybug get in close around the lightning to break the akumatized item?
Blue Ox nods and activates his special ability: growing. If the mouse is shrinking, the ox is growing—and Blue Ox sizes up until he can look Magnum Rex in the eye. He then grapples with the akumatized victim, tanking any blasts of thunder. Ladybug hides behind Blue Ox's back until she sees her moment and lunges for the akumatized item. Cat Noir knocks away Magnum Rex's claws so Ladybug can break the item and free and purify the akuma. (This scene includes usage of the Lucky Charm as well as a Cataclysm.) Ladybug does her world-healing wave, and Cameran Tyler transforms back to normal, baffled as to why he's in the middle of the city. Blue Ox shrinks to normal, and all three Pound It. Ladybug takes the ox back to Master Fu. You know, the usual wind down stuff, which also includes character appropriate commentary and development and relationship interaction.
Tristan Forter and Guy Nigels meet up with Cameran again. Guy offers to buy Cameran a burger for the heart ache. Cameran doesn't understand it. How can Nicolette like Etienne? The only person he loves is himself. Tristan says that Nicolette will see it soon enough, so Cameran might have another chance.
That evening, Marinette is unwinding after the day's work. She just got out of the shower, and she's checking her email and Adrien updates. Then she notices the chat server that the B Team uses has new notifications. Once again, the B Team is planning practice sessions and strategies to work together (they're not necessarily all online at the same time. They post messages and go offline and others reply when they can.) Marinette is genuinely impressed and a bit embarrassed by the lack of planning that she and Cat Noir have. She says to Froppy, who is online, that she's impressed by their teamwork. Froppy replies that the B Team based all of their ideas and training on what Ladybug and Cat Noir do. It's clear the golden duo are close, and surely they must work hard to communicate like they do in battle and they must practice hard together to support each other so well. Marinette is a bit flattered but also a bit humbled as she feels she and Cat Noir don't deserve the praise. But maybe she should also open more communication with Cat Noir. Should they practice together too? Maybe that's something she can suggest to Master Fu. But for now, she needs to sleep.
Across the city, also working on her computer, is Alya. She's reviewing the footage of her little sisters, scanning the background. There's no denying it. Ladybug definitely visited the acupuncture clinic that afternoon. Alya compares that with the news broadcast, which is reporting on Blue Ox versus Magnum Rex. It's a pretty hard fight to miss. As far as Alya can tell on time stamps, Ladybug's arrival at the clinic matches the time she was gone from the fight. Shortly afterward, Blue Ox appears. Alya knows from her own experiences as Rena Rouge that Ladybug doesn't keep the fox miraculous with her. This can only mean that Ladybug is connected to that acupuncture clinic. Does she work there? Is she a daughter or granddaughter or niece of someone who does? Is someone in the clinic an ally to Ladybug? How much do the employee(s) of that clinic know about Ladybug? Is the whole clinic a front for superheroes?
Alya thinks hard. This mystery really does intrigue her. It seems likely that the clinic is a headquarters for Ladybug and Cat Noir—and likely where the miraculous are kept too. At least where the ox is kept. Alya's reporter senses want to share this fact with everyone. However, as Rena Rouge, Alya knows Ladybug puts a lot of trust in her—Trixx said as much. And Alya does not want to ever damage that trust. Plus, if Hawk Moth found out, people could get hurt. Alya makes her decision. She'll protect the secret. So she deletes the video of her sisters that includes Ladybug. She also then begins to go through her other videos, searching for other stray evidence that might be used against Paris's heroes.
At the Agreste manor, Gabriel is frustrated by his repeated failures. Nathalie approaches him, tablet in hand. She tells him not to be disheartened. Every defeat gathers more information. And with more information, his goals come closer to fruition. Gabriel asks her what she means. Nathalie explains that she's been analyzing the data of all of the confrontations. She has a plan. Gabriel asks her what it is. She tells him that he needs to host a fashion show.
To be continued in Chapter 34: Brave Flyer…